Eric Alvarado

Everything is gone to a new home. Thank you!

Box of test kits, water jugs, filter media, and assorted random stuff.

I also have a 5G tank with hob filter you can grab if you want it.

Wife is politely asking me to move it out of the middle of the living room.

North Central Austin by Parmer and Mopac.

Ok after many attempts to rid the tank of what I thought was GHA I Joe believe it's bryopsis. What should I do? I know everyone is saying to raise the Mg but what will it kill in my tank? I have all soft corals, 2 green BTA's, a star fish and the fish I stated in a prior post.

I followed the instructions on the website with success.

http://www.austinree...il-bryopsis-r30

My Mag stayed above 2000 for several weeks with no noticable affect on any life. I read online that it could affect snails and like creatures, but I did not have that problem. My readings on salifert were around 2400 after dosing. I did not do a water change for 2-3 weeks (I don;t remember at this point). It took about 1.5 weeks before I saw a noticable decline. I did normal water changes after that (15 g on my 125) weekly to bi-weekly for the next few months. My mag was high for months afterwords, but never saw it again. Tank was pretty new at the time. (2 months old) I also pulled the worst rock out, and scrubbed it with a new toothbrush in salt water. This stuff was so tough you could pick up the rock by grabbing the growth.

Ok after many attempts to rid the tank of what I thought was GHA I Joe believe it's bryopsis. What should I do? I know everyone is saying to raise the Mg but what will it kill in my tank? I have all soft corals, 2 green BTA's, a star fish and the fish I stated in a prior post.

I followed the instructions on the website with success.

http://www.austinreefclub.com/page/FAQ/_/saltwater-101/defeating-the-evil-bryopsis-r30

What are watts?

4' T5 bulbs are 54 watts each.

What is not clear in the post is how many bulbs in the unit At that price, going to guess 2 bulb fixture.

http://www.marinedep...TFILDFX-vi.html

What do you guys think about this thing on a 20g long and keeping corals (maaaaaaaaaaaybe) clams under this thing. I've never done LED so I'm a little curious.

The one you have there is a double bright, it is NOT for reef tanks. It for fish only, I would not try to grow anything under it. You want the reef bright if you are interested in hosting any corals.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Marineland_Reef_LED_Light_Fixture_Flexible_Mount_LED_Light_Fixtures_for_Aquariums-Marineland-AS33000-FILTFILDFX-vi.html

This light is known to be a very soft light, ok for low light corals. Some SPS might be ok, as they are not all high light, and same with clams. It's hard to say how they would do, but I would equate them to about 1.5 T5 bulbs based on the reviews I've read about them. Several reviews on the light on the marineland site or google it.

You're right, inverts are prone to doing weird stuff. But what kind of anemone do you think it is Eric?

When I bought it, Shane and Sea Dweling Creature identified it as a purple tipped sebae anemone. It crawled behind my rock work a few months ago where it found a happy place (annoying), so I can't take a snap. I would have to take down the whole wall to get at him. Our rock wall has a clear spot in the back so light gets to him, so I've left him alone. I have a mini-carpet roaming around that area too.

But it did crawl up the rock work, and sat up there for a while, then I took down the tank to have it drilled. It has been on the bottom ever since.

Sorry guys sebaes never climb up the rockwork.

Never say never, my sebae most definately climbed up my rock. It did go back down after a couple weeks, but there is no denying it did make the trip around the rock about 1 week after I introduced it.

I will cut back on the lights when I get home. As for feeding, I only feed once a day and add the food slowly as to not have extra in the tank floating around. I have not changed the filters yet in the RO system as they are only about 4 months old. I am going to replace the DI resin this weekend since it just started to show 001 TDS. I don't feed corals either. I'm going to try the 3 days of darkness this week and then do a water change this weekend. Hopefully it helps.

Question:

Do I leave the skimmer running during the 3 days of darkness? And do I cover up the tank with a sheet?

Any tank filters - sponges or the like - that you haven't cleaned in a while?

Thanks for that Tim, gives me some basic numbers to think about. Will post the PAR readings we took on the new Vertex lighting after I get my T5s ballas warrantee repaired.

"what do you use when you brush your teeth? RO water?" We put many things in our body that we would never allow our tank to have in them. Why don''t you try pouring a bottle of scope in your tank, if you want to take that analogy.

I'm coming over to your house if that scope I just added the tank doesn't make my fishes breath minty fresh....

would smell as sweet....

couldn't resist.

Alan, you're going to become frustrated with your options

I've been struggling with the same question for 8 months. You have a ton of options, but the place to start with is telling us what kind of corals and livestock you wish to keep. Basically, we need to understand if you need low, medium or high intensity lighting. From there, there a dozens of options based on the dimensions and depth of your tank. All the different lighting options have different pros and cons, such as electricity use, heat generation, light output, spectrum, price so it is critical you let us know what you are going to want to keep, SPS hard corals, softies, LPS, Clams, etc.

You can use any lighting that fits over the tank, and if you are already hosting corals with your current lighting setup, then you should be ok on the 55. Since you are going larger to smaller, that will work out positivity for you.

Fish only tanks just need lights, the fish would be fine with any type of inexpensive lighting. Light the tank to your taste. I like the look of the doublebright LED lights for a fish only tank.

DAS H99 Filter. Has pump, protein skimmer made to be place in the tank as an in tank filter system. Comes with pump, skimmer, spong filter, carbon filter pad, and housing.

http://stores.petora...etail.bok?no=79

White stuff is coraline algea that should just come right off. It's actually purple, the flash changed the color

$15

I have two Power Compact ballasts that will drive 4 x64w square pin PC lights.

$40 obo

I like the tank becasue of the dimesnions. Its the biggest tank I can fit in this area. Id have to go to a 75 gallon to make it fit.

Prof can fix it or set you up with another tank. Last time I was out there he had a bunch of used tanks of various sizes.

is it cracked? or just leaks in the seams? if its just the seams just reseal your self. its not hard to do. its just 100% waterproof silicone w/o the mold agent. and will only cost about 30 bucks. ive resealed one before and it was easy. time consuming but easy.

Then set it up in the garage for a week or two to make sure it doesn't leak.

actually shane hates anything thats not his idea!

good guy though

Yup!

haha, you have a 125G DAS Flatback Hex don't you. I personally love the tank despite the fact Shane complaned that it had an in-tank filter I had him take out, then drill. He doesn't like anything out of the box

Mini carpets are known to be much more hardy than a normal nem. If you like it, I would keep it.

I had also been toying with the same idea. I haven't done it, but Shane over at Fishy Business said having 2 shrimp should be fine.

Woot, been wondering what those are for a while now

Thanks Tim and Mark.

I still think 99% of the lighting descisions are made with some basic assumptions Metal Halide light work for SPS is an assumption. PC lighting is best for softies and LPS, etc. What I want to know, is how many T5 or which LEDs or how does VHO stack up against MH. Can these technologies, and in what volume, do they compete with MH lighting? Do the low end LEDs stack up against VHO or T5 or MH?

I read the article link, good reading. Little hard to dig through all those articles, and I get distracted in every edition. Appreciate the pointer. Would have replied earlier, but work has been hectic, and I've been pretty out of pocket.

Thank you

Eric

hmm.. doing a bad job explaining, because I don't think it is all that complicated

All the critters already have "low, medium, high" notes about their needs. It's listed on every website. That said, what PAR rating would be considered "low, medium, or high." Or is PAR not the thing to review? I'm being very general, not overly specific about the exact needs of every creature.

I'll see if I can gather information on PAR values for the different technologies. Would love to see your PAR meter run against some VHOs and T5HOs and see what it reads.

By that reasoning, I should go with 1 12" PC light over my 125G because it is too complicated to bother discussing. It's not really that complicated. X PAR should be required per whatever creature, and say, a 250 MH light gives out 300-500 PAR 12" below the water on average. Each technology does put out a certain amount of light, that clearly can vary given reflectors, temperature, etc.

If I knew coral X like "X PAR" and "Light technology X" gives out X to Y PAR. People always are trying to be EXACT, but clearly you don't need to do that. You need rough estimates and then go with the technology that best meets your need (tank size, arrangement, hood-nohood-etc). But in order to do that, you need basic numbers even if it as simple as 3-5x- Watts per gallon for SPS.

i.e. I've been looking at LED strips. But in order to know how many I might need, I clearly need to understand how much PAR each strips gives out. Additionally, it would be useful to see how much PAR is being generated MH lighting, or T5HO, or PC lighting that is successfully growing the same things I want to grow. It's NOT too complicated to figure out, it is a base gathering of information that is spread out all over the place but not located in a single location.

I was simply asking if anyone knew of a resource that had any information like this that would give someone an idea of what tech to use for what. It is really not that complicated. I know I've seen PAR ratings for all kinds of technologies, but I have never seen them side by side, and never with regards to what corals need what level. (i.e. Most LPS need 75PAR+, keep below 300 or bleaching). I know these statements are broad, but they provided needed starting points.